PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN JOB SEEKERS AND WORKING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Myskin S.V.

Moscow City Pedagogical University
Moscow, Russia
E-mail: myskinsv@yandex.ru

Introduction

In the area of employment of people with disabilities (hereinafter referred to as PWD), it is appropriate to consider the transition from passive policies to active approaches as the primary goal. The relevance of this thesis is due to the increasing number of traumatized individuals among those participating in the SVO. Furthermore, a crucial task is to analyze the psychological challenges faced by potential employers and employment service specialists in communicating with job seekers with disabilities. A key feature of professional communication with this category of job seekers is the knowledge of all participants in the communication situation about the traumatic disabilities. Moreover, this knowledge is present in the minds of both the recruiter and the job seeker as an inescapable background. This circumstance necessitates the development of specialized communication competencies among HR specialists, which will help reduce the risk of psychological barriers arising during the employment of people with disabilities. Therefore, an analysis of the psychological communication challenges that arise during the employment of people with disabilities is relevant, which is the purpose of this article.

Problems of professional adaptation as a factor in demotivating communication among individuals with disabilities

Employment is a pressing issue for able-bodied people with disabilities. It is in this area of life that this population remains particularly vulnerable. The employment problem is complex and multifaceted, and its solution goes beyond standard government support programs for able-bodied people with disabilities (regulating pension amounts, providing benefits, etc.) and requires significantly greater attention from ministries and agencies. Thanks to consistent measures, the executive branch has succeeded in creating comprehensive systems of social and psychological rehabilitation that ensure the advancement of people with disabilities in professional and social activities. However, in the current context of demographic decline and a declining active population, the creation of conditions for the full return of this category of citizens to society is constantly increasing.

An analysis of the employment situation for people with disabilities reveals the two-pronged nature of the problems: on the one hand, the social and industrial sphere's inability to meet their needs, and on the other, the applicants' own inability to adapt to new circumstances (e.g., loss of learning and constructive communication skills, inability to use technical rehabilitation aids, etc.). This nature of the employment challenges for people with disabilities demonstrates that their inclusion in the workforce is possible through coordinated collaboration among various relevant specialists: teachers, medical professionals, social educators, psychologists, caregivers, production foremen, and others. All of these professionals can act as social partners in creating conditions suitable for the full functioning of people with disabilities in modern society.

Limited health capabilities disrupt the established way of life and the self-image within it. Performing previously habitual work activities is viewed as an unattainable goal, which contributes to a state of deprivation – the experience of a need to perform some kind of work is accompanied by the awareness of the impossibility of achieving it.

Inclusion in adequate work activities motivates people with disabilities to lead an active lifestyle. Work activities have a positive impact on their mental state, fostering an awareness of their social significance and increasing their self-esteem of their physical abilities. These psychological conditions contribute to the construction of a new worldview for people with disabilities, in which they act as participants in collaborative activities. The value placed on the prospects of teamwork creates a need for communication, stimulating strategies and tactics for constructive communication during collaborative activities.

Specifics of professional communication with people with disabilities

Communication between employment service specialists and job seekers with disabilities is a special type of professional communication. In psycholinguistics, professional communication is viewed as a process of regulating the behavior of communicants with the goal of establishing and developing contacts in connection with the current need for joint professional activity [2]. According to the psychological classification proposed by Professor E.A. Klimov, communication between employment service specialists and individuals with disabilities is woven into interpersonal and intergroup contacts that ensure joint activities within the framework of a person-to-person profession [6]. This communication can be polythematic, since the personnel officer supervises individuals with disabilities working in various professions. However, this communication also remains monothematic within the framework of the topic of the disabled person's limitations. This topic—the disabled person's limitations—constitutes the usual substantive, traumatic background for the disabled person in any communication with an employment service specialist, since the latter, by the very fact of his or her functioning as a curator, actualizes this traumatic background for the disabled person.

Professional requirements for communication between an employment service employee and a specialist working in the "person-to-person" profession can be established. Thus, based on the research of E.V. Selezneva, the following requirements for professional communication can be identified: a) communication should be carried out within the framework of a cooperative, communicatively supportive style; b) for communication between an HR employee and a disabled person, an open demonstration of a positive attitude towards the communication partner, an emphasized desire to stimulate communication, and a desire to achieve mutual understanding can be recommended; c) the employment service specialist must have developed emotional sensitivity, the ability to control their feelings and emotions [3, p. 236].

The characteristics of professional communication between an employer and a disabled person are in many ways similar to those of an employment service specialist. The specific nature of communication between an employer and a disabled person stems from the fact that the purpose of their communication is determined by the need to organize joint activities. Communication between a disabled person and an employer is functionally divided into two areas. The first area of communication is communication during the recruitment of individuals with disabilities. In this area, recruitment practices reveal instances of employers avoiding contact with disabled people as functionally limited individuals requiring additional adaptations to their working conditions. Only legislative pressure from society, as well as financial and legal incentives, compel employers to accommodate disabled people. The second area of communication between a disabled person and an employer is communication during the course of work activities. In this area, communication is woven into the structure of joint activities and serves the functions of organizing, supporting, and shaping these activities.

It's appropriate to analyze communication between a disabled person, an employment service specialist, and an employer as two types of communication based on the opposition criterion. In any case, interactions with disabled people are typically considered challenging communication situations, as disabled people can be viewed as individuals with health problems that impair their social well-being, which is measured by a person's ability to be successful and adequately regulate the behavior of communication partners. The social disadvantage experienced by disabled people impacts their mental and physical well-being, which, in turn, causes communication difficulties, not only interpersonal but also professional [4]. Therefore, employment service specialists and employers are obligated to adequately assess the communication difficulties of disabled people and guide them toward ensuring their social well-being.

A study of organizational and psychological factors demotivating professional communication between personnel officers and disabled workers

Practical management in organizations and enterprises focuses on comprehensive psychological assessment of personnel, selection and placement of staff, organization of team relations and interactions, and the development of organizational culture. In the area of professional communication, management tasks include, among other things, organizing business and informal communications using modern communication technologies and practical conflict management [1].

For a targeted study of the organizational and psychological factors demotivating professional communication within an organization, we used the method of organizational activity games [5]. For research purposes, two game scenarios were developed and implemented: "My Work Team: Case Analysis" and "Motives for Work Activity." The study involved both HR employees of organizations and enterprises, and disabled full-time employees. In the experimental conditions, participants simulated the functioning of their organization in a game format, indicated its main areas of competence and basic functions in society, defined educational goals and social priorities, described motivation for professional development prospects, and also assessed their work activity from the point of view of the work team. Each process of game interaction was divided into four scenario episodes: free choice and organization of a project group, creation of a preliminary design of the organization, presentation and discussion, and final analysis of the results. Following the results of each game, an intermediate diagnosis of various organizational and psychological parameters and parameters of interpersonal relations was conducted.

An analysis of the records of organizational activity games conducted indicates that HR staff lack a coherent understanding of the social function of their organization. They often perceive a disabled employee as "...an undesirable object that only hinders the work process." HR staff are psychologically unprepared to work with such a group. They lack conflict-free communication skills and emotional self-regulation techniques. HR staff are also unable to provide management methods appropriate to the nature of the employee's disability. When managing disabled employees, the most commonly used style is the "most accessible" authoritarian one. In most cases, HR staff substitute their own individual values and goals for actual management goals, which ultimately conflict with one another.

We would like to emphasize that the ideas about people with disabilities recorded in the projects of HR workers were formed not as a conscious acceptance of the organization’s goals, but as a result of the transfer of their own individual experience.

A summary and interpretation of the empirical results of a comprehensive study of organizational and psychological factors demotivating professional communication with disabled employees showed the following:

— at the organizational level – the lack of coordinated ideas among human resources staff about the social goals of organizations and enterprises implemented within the framework of integrating people with disabilities into society;

— at the psychological level – psychological incompetence of HR staff in assessing and selecting personnel from among disabled people and people with limited physical abilities;

— at the management level – the use of inadequate and ineffective methods of managing people with disabilities;

— at the interpersonal level – the lack of development of systems for motivating the work of disabled people, the lack of focus on cooperation and partnerships with disabled employees.

Results of a study of the personal characteristics of job seekers with disabilities

The personality traits of job seekers with disabilities were examined using the following parameters: level of professional maladjustment; level of emotional self-control; intensity of work motivation and motivation for success; professional orientation; and communication potential. A set of relevant diagnostic tools was compiled for the study. The goal of the study was to identify the profile of demotivating personality traits in job seekers with disabilities, stemming from their traumatic experiences and hindering optimal professional communication during employment. For ethical reasons, this article does not provide objective information about the subjects.

The results of diagnostic procedures allow us to conclude the following. The leading behavioral strategies for people with disabilities are to find work that is appropriate for their disability. Most respondents exhibit the most pronounced destructive psychological defenses:

a) at the personal level - the factor of «mental inferiority of the individual» - 73% (social infantilism, neurotic personality, presence of psychopathies);

b) at the professional level – factors of «lack of professional self-determination» – 91%, «inadequate professional self-determination» – 82%, «limitation of professional competence» (the disabled person is not active in professional self-determination – 90%);

c) at the organizational level – the factors «lack of a socially valuable concept of the organization», «mutual influence of the subsystems of the organization», «lack of legal regulation of relations between the employer and the disabled person», «lack of complete legal regulation of the content of the work functions performed by a person» – 90% (lack of a socially holistic concept of the organization, a shift in the goals of the organization from socially significant positions to pragmatic and technological ones – to conquer the market, diffuse regulation of interaction between the employer and the disabled person, a shift in interaction from the position of legal regulation to other forms of relations).

The data obtained allow us to conclude that the majority of applicants with disabilities have insufficiently developed compensatory mechanisms, which is why they are prone to depression, unmotivated aggression, illness, and low social activity.

Conclusions

To summarize, the following psychological problems of professional communication in situations of employment of people with disabilities, as well as working people with disabilities, can be formulated.

Interactions between job seekers with disabilities, employment service specialists, and employers are characterized by challenges in organizing constructive communication and collaborative efforts. Above all, interactions between these categories of citizens must be free from discrimination based on disability. Adequate and comprehensive compensation must be paramount for the normal employment of people with disabilities. When interacting with people with disabilities, the state, through its representatives, must recognize that people with disabilities are workers with ordinary rights, but they must take into account the complex social disadvantages that are present in their consciousness and color their entire lives.

A psychological study of disabled people – full-time employees of organizations – indicates the need to take into account the characteristics of the mental sphere of this category when selecting and evaluating personnel: instability of the emotional sphere, a high level of work motivation, developed creative potential, impaired communication, destructive psychological defense, social infantilism, lack of professional self-determination.

An organizational and psychological study revealed a lack of coherent understanding among human resources staff regarding the social goals of organizations and enterprises implementing the integration of people with disabilities into society. Furthermore, the study revealed psychological incompetence among human resources staff in assessing and selecting people with disabilities, inadequate management methods, inadequate work incentive systems for people with disabilities, and a lack of focus on cooperation and partnership.

To implement an effective personnel policy for enterprises and organizations in relation to disabled full-time employees, it is proposed to introduce supportive, partnership relationships into the management system.

Literature

1. Myskin S.V. Organizational and psychological analysis of professional consciousness of employees of modern work collectives // Organizational psycholinguistics. 2018. No. 1(1). P. 21–38.
2. Myskin S.V. Psycholinguistic aspects of professional communication // Bulletin of Volgograd State University. Series 2: Linguistics. 2013. No. 2(18). P. 199–206.
3. Selezneva E.V. Communication between representatives of different types of professions: specifics // Psychology of communication. Encyclopedic dictionary. General editor A.A. Bodalev. Moscow, 2010. pp. 322–324.
4. Tvorogova N.D. Communication: diagnostics and management. Moscow, 2002. 246 p.
5. Shchedrovitsky G.P. Selected Works. Moscow: Publishing House of the School of Cultural Policy, 1995. 759 p.
6. Klimov E.A. The image of the world in different types of professions. M.: Publishing house Mosk. Univ., 1995. 224 p.

References

1. Myskin, S. V. (2018). Organizational and psychological analysis of professional consciousness of employees of modern work collectives. Organizational Psycholinguistics, 1(1), 21–38.
2. Myskin, S. V. (2013). Psycholinguistic aspects of professional communication. Bulletin of Volgograd State University. Series 2: Linguistics, 2(18), 199–206.
3. Selezneva, E. V. (2010). Communication of representatives of different types of professions: specifics. In A. A. Bodalev (Ed.), Psychology of communication. Encyclopedic dictionary. Moscow, 322–324.
4. Tvorogova, N. D. (2002). Communication: diagnostics and management.
   246 p.
5. Shchedrovickij, G. P. (1995). Selected Works. Moscow: Publishing House of the School of Cultural Politics. 759 p.
6. Klimov, EA. The image of the world in various professions. Moscow, Moscow University Publishing House, 1995, 224 p.

Date of receipt of the article by the editors: 09/04/2025.

Date of acceptance of the article for publication: 09.27.2025.